The Angel of the Archive: The Marginalia of God
Jonathan writes about a mythic book with marginalia that might reveal more than any book today.
It is well known—at least among those who subscribe to obscure theological journals—that Anselmo of Bruges held that the margins of holy books were more inspired than the text itself. “The Lord,” he wrote in a letter never delivered, “prefers the space left over.”
He spent forty years annotating every Bible he could find—not the words, but the silences. Where the text declared Fiat lux, Anselmo scribbled: “But was it too bright?” Beside In principio erat Verbum, he noted: “There must have been a pause before the Word, some divine hesitation.”
Over time, his marginalia expanded: digressions, diagrams, recipes for invisible ink, even an attempted refutation of the Trinity using only fish metaphors. Eventually, the words of Scripture disappeared entirely beneath his own script.
When he died, his brethren gathered the volumes and had them burned. Yet legend insists that one survived—a single book whose margins are completely filled and whose original text is wholly effaced. It is said to contain everything God meant to say, had He been less concise.
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Contributed by
Jonathan Bennett
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Mr. Jonathan Bennett is a historian by education, a chef by profession, and an ironist by necessity. Once on a trajectory toward a lucrative career in law, he took a sharp turn into the far less profitable (but arguably more flavorful) world of fine dining. After tiring of crafting exquisite dishes for a pittance, he found himself cooking for a less discerning clientele beyond the Arctic Circle - as with most of his life, an existential joke not lost on him.
His passions lie in history, particularly the Middle Ages, Byzantium, and the Renaissance. As well, he is drawn to religion, art, literature, and certain esoteric interests best discussed over a strong drink (or two). A seasoned traveler, he is equally at home everywhere from fine Viennese cafés to alchemist’s dens beneath the streets of Prague, crumbling ruins high in the Caucasus mountains, and the labyrinthine alleys of Old Damascus. Despite being voted in high school as both ‘most likely to become a third-world dictator’ AND ‘most likely to become a monk’, neither fate has yet come to pass. He resides part of the time in Montreal, where he continues to indulge in debates – usually defending causes long since lost.
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